View a video of Yves De Koninck (below – in French) explaining his discovery, read the article in Québec Science about it, and then vote for this important discovery, which could be named discovery of the year for 2013. (You will find the link to vote for this discovery at the end of the article in Québec Science.)

The videos of the top 10 discoveries of 2013 will also air on television, on Canal Savoir

Two major discoveries made by Yves De Koninck and his team in 2013, which built on previous important discoveries from his laboratory, could bring relief to patients suffering from chronic pain and could even further our understanding of other neurological diseases, such as epilepsy, anxiety and even schizophrenia.  This work is recognized as one the top 10 scientific discoveries of 2013 by Le Soleil newspaper.  
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An article published in Nature Neuroscience in January 2013 by Yves De Koninck and his collaborators is recognized as one of the top ten discoveries of 2013 by the magazine Quebec Science.  We invite you to read the story here: Québec Science (in French only), and to then vote for this story, which could be named discovery of the year following the popular vote.  The deadline to vote for the discovery of the year is February 20th, 2014.

The scientific article in Nature Neuroscience was also featured on the Pain Research Forum (PRF) website, where it has become one of the top 10 most popular stories of the year.  The PRF was built and is maintained by the Harvard Neurodiscovery Center and aims to “provide a place for members of the international pain research community to engage in an open exchange of information and ideas”. It features the most important discoveries in pain research made worldwide.

Yves De Koninck was named personality of the week La Presse – Radio-Canada, in recognition of his recent discoveries published in Nature Medecine, the Jacques-Rousseau prize for multidisciplinarity awarded to him by ACFAS and his nomination as Scientific Director of the Quebec Mental Health Institute (Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec – ISUMQ). Read the article in La Presse, or listen to an interview on Radio-Canada radio.

Professor Yves De Koninck has been named Scientific Director of the Quebec Mental Health Institute (QMHI).

More information about this important news can be found on the QMHI-IUSMQ website (in French)

Yves De Koninck, Director and Founder of the Neurophotonics Centre, was awarded the 2013 Jacques-Rousseau prize by the Association francophone pour le savoir – ACFAS.

This prize recognizes excellence in multidisciplinary research, demonstrated in Dr. De Koninck’s approach to neuroscience, which combines physics, computational science, biochemistry, and advanced microscopy, which is highly collaborative in nature and which lead to the founding of the Neurophotonics Centre.

Dr. De Koninck’s successful multidisciplinary approach is further evidenced by his recent publication of an article in Nature Medicine in which a pharmacological approach was used to identify a molecule that was shown to be effective to alleviate pain hypersensitivity in a rat model of neuropathic (chronic) pain.

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The Canada Foundation for Innovation produced a video about the Neurophotonics Centre featuring an interview with Yves De Koninck, in which he explains how neurophotonics techniques are used to understand chronic pain, and could also be used eventually to treat this condition. In French.

A recent feature article in University Affairs explains how a neurophotonics research powerhouse was developed at Université Laval thanks to the leadership and vision of brothers Paul and Yves De Koninck.
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Canadians for Health Research (CHR), a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of health research named Yves De Koninck researcher of the month for July 2013. CHR recognized Dr. De Koninck for his ground-breaking work in the area of pain research and for his commitment to ensure the ‘silent epidemic’ of chronic pain is recognized by society. His use of innovative techniques, such as neurophotonics, is evidence of his commitment to finding novel ways to bring relief to pain patients.
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On June 17th and 18th was held the 2013 Neurophysics Retreat at La Forêt Montmorency. Nearly 80 professors, researchers and students from the Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec (CRIUSMQ), McGill University and the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont took advantage of the relaxed and friendly atmosphere of the place to get acquainted, present their research work and discuss.
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